Complications
by Shiggity Shwa
Summary: Set 7 months after when Pam's wedding should've happened and 5 months after Jim left Dunder Mifflin. The cameras are still present, but they don't catch everything...JimPam
1. Chapter 1

_Hi everyone, this is my first Office fiction and I'm totally stoked! I've been meaning to write one for awhile, but I didn't have the chance to, and now, well I do, so here it is! _  
_I hope I was true to the characters and I would really appreciate it if you would review and tell me what you thought!  
_

**Disclaimer: I own none of the characters, nor the idea of The Office (if I did, hiatuses would be a thing of the past...)**

Complications

Chapter 1

Snow Day

The door opened quickly with a cool gust of air and a whoosh. The office was heated, but the corridor that linked with the office was as freezing as the late January temperature.

"Pam!" Michael called out to her as he entered the office and shook his dark winter coat free of lingering snowflakes, "Pam! Pamela! Pamelot!" He greeted as he made his way over to the reception desk.

"Ha! Get it?" he questioned as she glanced up to him with a forced smile, "It's like Camelot, though I don't think any knights are going to be sitting at your round table."

Her face immediately dropped as she turned it towards her desk. Michael in his absurdity thought that the sudden change in personality was due to confusion, rather than sadness.

He swiftly began to break down his joke, "You know? Because you and Roy broke up and Jimbo's gone? So you really have no one right now, and the round table was, you know, full." His smile never faltered as he finished his explanation, "You get it now?"

"Yeah," she replied quietly, her head not turning upwards to face him.

"Great," he exclaimed and turned around to find half of the office staring at him in shock, "Come on guys, you'd better get as much work done before we get sent home for inclement weather," he added in a gleeful tone.

"But Chet Montgomery said that Scranton would only get an inch of snow at the most," Kevin informed monotonously from where he sat in his corner.

"Yeah, well Chet's only a meteorologist and their only right like, what? Three percent of the time? So…"

"Actually there was a TV special on about a week ago that said Chet was one of the most precise meteorologists in America," Toby stated from the doorway to the kitchen "It said that he was right nine times out of ten."

"Yeah, well, that's not perfect okay, Toby? And I think that today is going to be that tenth time," Michael argued angrily, "In fact, I am willing to bet twenty bucks that we're out of here before noon."

Toby shook his head and turned his back to Michael, going through the Kitchen and back to his desk.

"Great," Michael curtly responded, "After you're driving home in eight feet of snow, we'll see how strong your love for Chet really is."

* * *

Eleven O'clock had rolled around and the overcast skies had parted, letting the dull winter sun through to melt the small existing amount of snow. 

"Dunder Mifflin, this is Pam," she answered the phone. It was Jan again for Michael, probably to berate him for calling her sixteen times in one hour to ask how much snow Stamford was supposed to receive.

She transferred the call to Michael and didn't suppress the small smile that crawled to her face as she heard him through the thin walls of his office trying to wheedle his way out of being reprimanded.

She turned back to her computer and to the game of solitaire displayed on it. Whether it was all in her head or not, her win average had dropped since he'd left. The game had gotten excessively harder and she was lucky if she could win one or two a day.

The phone rang again and she reached over, lifting it off the receiver, "Dunder Mifflin, this is Pam," the words were programmed into her after three years of saying them for eight hours a day for five days a week.

It was Jan again, apparently she hung up and though of more things to berate Michael with. With a quick 'please hold', and a push of the transfer button she was back to her uneventful game.

Inconspicuously she swerved her head around the monitor of her computer and glanced towards the desk that used to be his. Used to be.

Now Ryan sat there. After two and a half months of looking for a replacement for Jim, Michael had decided to offer the position to Ryan who at first seemed horrified. Pam really couldn't blame him; he had plans for the future, none of which included Dunder Mifflin in the slightest. But he realized the pay was higher and he could learn more in a sales position.

The game of solitaire quickly ended when she found she had no more moves, and a pencil was brought out to make the doodles she was already thinking of tangible. Sometimes she drew nothing in particular, just random squiggles and patterns. Other times she might draw a scene from a movie or a memory with the tiniest detail sketched out in a fine HB line. No matter what she drew, she kept it. She brought it home and put it in a special folder.

Her stomach gurgled oddly as her hunger grew. Usually she had a tea and some sort of snack at ten, but she hadn't had the chance to enter the kitchen to make it. Someone had made a pot of coffee right before she went in and the pungent smell of it was strong enough to make her stomach do summersaults.

Her mind came to a halt as she saw the swirling heart she had drawn on the page, and she thought of him. She wondered how much snow Stamford was really going to get, and if he minded driving home in it. She wondered if he was having fun with his new job, with his very own office. She wondered what kind of pictures he hung on his walls and if it was as cluttered as Michael's.

She glanced up towards the computer screen again to check the time, eleven-thirty-six. She let out an exhausted sigh as her hand came up to cover the yawn that escaped her mouth.

"Tired?" Phyllis asked with a smile as she walked pass Pam's desk.

"Yeah," Pam nodded in agreement, "My classes in New York started this month and it's been really bad driving up there in the winter weather."

"Oh right," Phyllis grinned widely, "How is it?"

"It's really great; I'm learning all about computer graphics and stuff like that. If I finish it with a high mark, I might be able to get a job at the Stamford branch," she informed with a wider smile then she would've liked.

"That's really great…"

"Alright everyone," Michael shouted loudly as he walked out of his office. "Ryan, go get Toby," he told the now salesman as he walked up beside his desk, "I want to make sure he gets it from the mouth of the horse."

Ryan sighed and rose from his seat to retrieve Toby from the back room. When he had arrived Michael made sure he had everyone's attention before continuing, "You can all go home now, because the office is closed due to inclement weather."

"What?" Oscar questioned as he turned away from his desk.

"This is not inclement weather, Michael," Stanly informed as he looked up to Michael.

"I know it's not inclement weather by your standards, but we all weren't raised in the Ghetto," Michael added.

"No this is not inclement weather anywhere," Stanly argued.

"No I think…"

"No he's right," Kelly agreed, "There's no snow on the ground because the sun melted it all and it's actually pretty nice out, you should open a window or something in your office."

"Well Kelly, I can't, because I'm going home," Michael exclaimed as he walked into his office and returned with his coat slung over his arm, "I'll see you all tomorrow."

"Aren't you going to put on your coat?" Pam questioned as he walked by her desk.

"No it's too hot for that," he enlightened as he opened the door and walked out into the hall.

* * *

She pulled her car into her driveway and took the keys out of the ignition. Stopping a moment to look at her house. Her house. Five months ago she would've been sharing it with Roy, and that had changed all in a matter of hours. His stuff was out and he was gone, and she was left alone with the house. 

It was small, and the roof was shingled an unattractive green color and leaked in certain areas, like over the bed and toilet, when it rained. It was like a sauna in the summer and so unbearably cold in the winter that she had to where two pairs of socks and a sweater to bed, but it was her house.

She made her way across the hard ground and to the uneven pathway that led to the deck and let her imagination go. She couldn't wait for the spring to roll around; she could finally plant flowers in the front of her house like she wanted to do last year, but some how Roy seemed to have talked her out of it. Now that he was gone nothing was going to stop her, she'd always wanted a nice, full garden, like the kind she had when she was growing up.

The stairs that lead up to her deck creaked as she stepped on them; the wood was old and dilapidated along with the rest of the ancient deck. She was beginning to think of the ways she could fix it when something caught her eye.

She'd barely noticed it, parked halfway down the street where he always parked, but it was there. A grin consumed her face as she clapped her hands together excitedly, and then rummaged through the pockets of her winter coat for the keys to her house.

He'd probably gotten her email that the small nip of the flu she'd gotten was back and came to investigate himself. It had been almost a month since he came down for Christmas, and as unexpected as it was, she was glad she was going to see him again.

She giggled to herself as she shoved the keys into the door and unlocked it. It seemed so funny that one red, Corolla could make her so happy.

* * *

_I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, and the second will be up shortly!_  



	2. Break Ins

_Hey guys, I'm glad you liked the first chapter, and I've been writing extra hard to get to the second and third ( not to brag but the third is AWESOME) chapters. This one is kinda short and sweet, but it's all to build up to the third. Thanks to those who reviewed, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. _

Complications

Chapter 2  


Break-ins

She walked through the door noiselessly and placed her purse on the floor between the wall and the radiator, scrapping some of the loose paint off of it while doing so.

Her keds slipped off silently and she peered around the corner to find him sitting on the couch reading, "I knew I should've had that lock replaced," she voiced.

The couch shook as he jumped with surprise at her sudden voice. He turned around to see her, his face flushed with embarrassment, "Well then you wouldn't have nice visitors like me waiting for you when you get home from work," he informed as he stood up and walked over to her standing in the archway of the room.

She smiled as she leaned into him, and shivered when his large hands curled around the curve of her waist, "Speaking about work, aren't you supposed to be there right now?"

"Aren't you supposed to be at work?" he questioned back, then quickly removed one of his hands from around her waist and placed it on her forehead, "You didn't leave sick did you?"

"I'm fine," she told him as she took one of his large hands in both of hers, then giggled as she remembered why exactly she was sent home, "Michael said it was inclement weather."

His face skewed into that look he made when he didn't understand something, the face that made her want to plant kisses all over it. He sent a quick glance out the window and informed confusedly, "It's sunny out."

She laughed and nodded her head, "I know."

"So?" he chuckled pulling her close to him again and linking his arms by the small of her back.

"So?" she questioned looking up to him with big, innocent eyes, "Did you just travel the two and a half hour drive from Stamford for no reason?"

"Well" Jim began as he stared into her eyes, "I received a distressing email from my girlfriend telling me how sick she was and how she missed me," he explained as he pulled away from her and lead her towards the couch, "If the flu is back, you should take a few days off work, there's no need to overwork yourself."

"It's not the flu," she informed as she leaned against him, her head resting gently against his shoulder, "It's so boring at work, and taking the classes on the weekend now is really sapping my energy, then I come home and you're not here," she told him.

"Well I took today off," he enlightened has his hand ran through her wavy hair, "I had enough of that place. I actually got mad at someone," he added as he sent her a glance.

"Really?" she questioned, her eyes growing wide with surprise, "What happened?"

"He got angry at something that I wasn't even in control of, and I couldn't fix it. He left and slammed my door and one of you paintings fell on the ground. The glass cracked and the picture ripped," he spoke slowly as if he were reliving the scene in his mind.

"I'm sorry," Pam said with a frown as she hugged him closer, "I have a lot of other doodles for you. I haven't been doing much at work lately, so there's a bunch in the folder."

His mouth opened to reply, but was interrupted by the growling of her stomach, "Maybe we should forget about complaining about our bad days and go out for lunch. If we pick some stuff up on the way home I can cook supper so you can relax," he told her with a smile.

"How did I ever get along without you?" she questioned as she lightly kissed his lips.

"I still haven't figured that one out," he added with a shrug as he returned her kiss.

"Ha ha," she feigned laugher as she pulled away from the kiss and stood from the couch, "If we're going…" she stopped speaking abruptly and her face began to pale.

"Pam?" Jim asked as he jumped up from the couch, "What?..."

Before he could finish his question she was out of the room, and sliding down the hallway on hardwood floors in cotton socks.

When he reached the bathroom door her face was red from loosing her breakfast to the toilet. She flushed the toilet as he knelt down beside her on his knees and began to rub circles on her back comfortably.

"It's not the flu?" Jim questioned and she leaned into him weakly.

"Maybe it's a touch of the flu," she barely whispered, her whole body suddenly exhausted.

"Let's stay home," he told her, "I'll make something to eat, and we can just spend the whole night alone. It'll be nice."

She smiled as he helped her to her feet. As she climbed the stairs and changed into her pajamas she remembered the times she'd been sick around Roy. He had a weak stomach and insisted that when she was sick, to shut the door to the bathroom so he didn't hear.

Her eyes became droopy as she sat on the edge of her bed. They slid closed slowly and suddenly a nap seemed like one of the best things in the world.

(space)

She woke up with his arms wrapped around her, his chin resting on her shoulders and his cheek to hers. She let out a deep sigh and reached down to slip her hands around his and felt him smile.

"Feeling better?" he spoke groggily as he stretched out behind her and adjusted his arms a little tighter around her waist.

"Actually yeah," Pam nodded as she twisted in his arms to face him, "I feel completely revitalized and I'm ready for a late night of bar hopping and clubbing," she informed sarcastically as she inched closer to him.

He chuckled, a smile lighting up his face in the darkened room, "You don't want to be infecting the entire Scranton club scene with your flu, do you?" he asked as he moved closer, his nose grazing the tip of hers.

"You don't want to catch my flu do you?" she whispered, her lips so close to his that her could feel their lingering, ghostlike touch.

"I've had the flu before," he informed speedily as his lips moved against hers. His hands slid up her side, to her neck, and then through her hair to the back of her head when he deepened the kiss.

His hand moved over her stomach and felt as it rumbled with hunger, "We should have that supper I promised to cook," he voiced as he pulled away, though it was the last thing he wanted to do at the moment.

She smiled, "Is it grilled cheese? Because I could really go for some grilled cheese sandwiches right now."

"Some?" he questioned as he rose of the bed.

"Well you know what they say, 'starve a cold, feed a fever," she said with a shrug.

"You don't have a fever," he reminded as they left the room together.

"Are we having grilled cheese or not?" she queried with faked irritation.

"We are now," he replied.


	3. A Plus

_Hey guys. I said I was typing feriously, and this is the result. _  
_I hope you all enjoy it, and thank you once again for your kind reviews. I'm going to make it my goal to write at least a page each night. Oh and this story is going to be very long... Very very very long. Looooong. _  
_Enjoy!_  
_And remember to tell me what you think!_

  
Complications

Chapter 3

A Plus

_How could I have been this stupid?_ She questioned to herself as she took the next exit off the highway. Thoughts were piling up in her head, and it was becoming very hard to concentrate on driving in the darkness of the night, not to mention the blizzard that Michael had thought would occur yesterday had started today.

She tried to keep her mind busy, tried to think of how this had happened, but her mind couldn't focus. After a large inhalation, she tried to bring herself to this morning. She'd woken up in Jim's arms after they'd fallen asleep with each other on the couch. She'd made him eggs and had cereal herself and he had convinced her to take a sick day from work even though she'd felt fine.

Jim told her that he made a doctor's appointment for her the night prior, and that she should definitely go Wednesday just to see if anything was wrong. He was worried for her, and it was sweet, so she didn't say no.

He left around ten so he could get to work by noon, and she hadn't wanted him to go. She never wanted him to go, but this time, she felt like she needed him to be there. She hadn't mentioned anything to him though; she kissed him extra hard and almost cried when he said he loved her.

Pam had been acting weird lately, so when he left, she decided to google her symptoms and was alarmed to find what the main result was. She checked out the possibility as fast as she could and after a few hours of panicking were added into the equation, it brought her to where she was now. Driving through Stamford at half-passed-two in the afternoon, during a county wide blizzard warning, trying to get to Jim's hotel.

He still lived in a hotel, though he'd found an apartment he liked, he had to finish making the final adjustments and signing the final papers, he'd probably move in next month.

She pulled into the hotel's parking lot and hastily pulled the keys from the ignition. Her face was blank for a few moments as she watched the snow fall gracefully and land on the hood of her car.

Her mind reverted back with when she told Roy that the wedding was off, that she loved him once, but didn't love him now, and until this moment, that was the hardest thing she'd ever done in her life.

She reached across to the passenger's seat and shoved the plastic bag that lay there carefully into her pocket. Hesitantly she opened the door and set one of her ked clad feet through the four inches of snow that already lay on the ground.

She slammed the door and leaned back against the car to look across the lot to the mahogany stained door with the chipped wood that lead to him. Tears bit at her eyes, she couldn't do it, not right now, it was the last thing they needed.

They'd finally fallen into a routine. Before she started taking her classes it was hectic, who would go to whose house, Scranton and Stamford both held a lot of people who knew that they used to work together and still worked for the same company.

They'd decided unanimously to keep their relationship a secret for the time being. The breakup between Pam and Roy did not end well and rather than making it worse, they decided to keep their relationship incognito.

Now that she was taking classes in New York on the weekends, it was easy enough for him to drive up and meet her. He stayed with her in her hotel room and either watched TV or went out sightseeing while she had class.

As she opened the door of her car to get in, Pam realized that even if she didn't tell Jim, the problem wasn't going to go away. She slammed the door once again and began trudging through the snow to his doorway. Her hands disappeared up into her coat sleeves as her heart began to pound inside her chest.

With her hand cushioned by the plush material of her coat, she knocked on his door and nervously waited for him to open it. There was rustling on the other side of the wall and soon Jim opened the door.

Her body froze and she didn't know what to say. His face formed a quizzical glance as he stared at her, "I'm not in Scranton am I?" He questioned as he shoved his head outside and looked around, "Because I knew the blizzard was bad, but I didn't know it was Dorothy bad."

Her arms stood ridged at her sides as he looked at her with a large smile, which quickly diminished when she failed to respond. His eyebrows fell and he held out his hand to pull her inside the heated hotel room.

"What's the matter?" he asked as she stood beside him, her body facing his. His hands moved over her body quickly, tenderly brushing the fallen snow off.

"We need to talk," she told him seriously as she reached out and caught his hands.

His face fell more and his eyes grew wide, "Not like that," she clarified with a small peck on his lips.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack Beesly?" he queried as he grabbed the extra material on his sweater, "You know I can't take surprises well."

She bit her bottom lip, "We should probably sit down then," she suggested as she maneuvered past him and took a seat at the foot of his bed.

His throat became dry; the way Pam was acting was beginning to frighten him. He knew she'd been under the weather lately, but he didn't think it was anything serious. After a large gulp, he sat beside her and fought the urge to wrap an arm around her waist in comfort.

After a few moments of silence she shook her head, "I have no clue how to do this." Her bottom lip was captured between her teeth and turning white from the pressure. Tears brimmed her eyes as she continued to shake her head.

"Hey," Jim comforted, "it's okay," He pulled her to his chest and placed his head atop hers while running a hand through her hair, "Whatever it is, we'll get through it together," He paused and moved her back to look in her eyes, "Okay?"

She nodded in agreement and reached into her coat and pulled out a Ziploc bag with something inside of it, "Here," she told him as she handed him the bag and wiped her eyes with the back of her coat sleeve.

"What's this?" he asked as he turned over the bag and saw a white stick with two small, black addition signs on it, "I don't get it," he informed truthfully, as he turned the bag over in his hands again and again. "What does it mean?" he questioned moving his eyebrows into that face of sheer puzzlement as he came back to the black signs.

"It means we're having a baby," Pam answered with a sniffle.

His eyes grew wide once again as he looked back to the bag, then back up to Pam. "It's a pregnancy test," she clarified with newly shed tears rolling down her face, then added, "And we passed."

Moments of silence passed before either of them spoke again. Then finally with a smile on his face Jim spoke, "This is what you were worried about?" He looked at her, his eyes twinkling.

"Yeah," she replied softly with a nod of her head.

"Pam," he chuckled as he placed the bag on his bed and pulled her into him. His whole body shook with laughter as Pam's solidified with shock. "This is nothing to be worried about," he informed as he kissed her passionately.

"What?" Pam questioned as he broke the kiss. Her chest was heaving large breaths as she looked at him in surprise, "We're…"

"Just having a baby," Jim finished the sentence for her and looked down to her stomach, a grin spread from ear to ear.

"Jim," she voiced loudly as he got up from the bed, the plastic bag in his hand and began looking around the room, "We can't have a baby!"

He turned back to her, "Apparently we can," he disagreed as he held the bag in one hand and pointed to it with the other.

"Jim," she shook her head but a smile graced her face. "What about all the other things that are priorities right now?" she questioned.

"We'll deal with them once they come, Pam," he told her still gazing around the room, "It's going to take me about nine months to get over the fact that you and I are," he paused and grinned once again, "It's amazing." Jim walked over and knelt before Pam, taking both her hands in his, "I mean you know how much I love you, and you know that I love me too, and something that's both of us put together? It'll be perfect."

She laughed and moved a hand to the side of his face, "You're really happy about this, aren't you?"

"Are you kidding me? I haven't been this happy since that night we had the casino," he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. "And I'm keeping this," he told her as he showcased the bag once again, "I want to frame is as a trophy or something. I was looking for a place to put it…"

"Alright, that," she snatched the bag, "Is going into the garbage."

"Fine, but you're not going anywhere," he announced as he undid the zipper on her coat, "There's no way I'm going to let you two drive back to Scranton in a blizzard."

"You're really okay with this?" she asked as she shook her coat off and left it on the bed.

"I'm okay with it," he answered as he watched her carefully, trying to imagine her eight months from now. "Are you okay with it?"

"Yeah," she pressed her lips together, "I mean I was nervous about what you'd do, but I don't think I have to worry about that anymore."

"Oh yes you do," He declared as he pulled her into his lap, "You need to know that for the next nine months I'm going to be nothing if not overprotective. I'm going to be watching what you eat and where you sleep," He kissed her cheek and placed his hand onto her stomach, "And for the next nine months you're going to have to put up with my excessive stomach touching and conversations."

"I think I'll manage," she replied as she snuggled against his chest and reveled in the comfort and relief she immediately felt.


	4. Motherly Advice

_Hey sorry this chapter took so long to put up. I had to work and then I got stumped but it's finished now so all is well.  
Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time, and if anyone has any questions or suggestions or things they really want me to out in, I'd be elated to hear them.  
Enjoy this chapter, and remmeber to review!_

  
Complications

Chapter 4

Motherly Advice

"So when's the ultrasound?" Jim asked as they walked away from the doctor's office. The weather had calmed a little over night but a foot of snow had accumulated on the ground.

"Next Thursday at two," Pam informed as Jim opened the passenger's door for her. He sucked on his bottom lip as she got in as he often did when he was contemplating something.

After taking the driver's seat of Pam's car, he divulged, "I've got a sales meeting that day." His face scrunched up into one of thought as he placed the keys into the ignition and started the car.

"I'm going to have to come down with a horrific disease or have my great uncle die again," Jim explained as the car inched out of the snowy parking lot to the clean streets. "How does cholera sound?"

"You don't have to be there, Jim," she stated softly. When he looked over to her she shrugged her shoulders to bring her coat up to cover her chin.

"I want to be," he said with a curt laugh as he turned down the street approaching her house.

"But you're not going to be able to be there for everything," she told him sincerely. "I mean we live two and a half hours from each other, and I'm supposed to have a doctor's appointment every month. You're going to make it back for each one?"

"Yeah," he said with a nod of his head, "The baby is more important than selling paper, Pam. By a long shot."

"But your job is important to Jim," she enlightened as she shifted slightly closer to him, "You make more than double what I do, and babies aren't cheap," she added honestly.

"Pam, what's important right now is the health of you and our baby. Anything else we can worry about later," Jim replied as he pulled into the driveway.

"We can't make sure that the baby is healthy if we have no money to pay for the ultrasound, or the appointments, or for the delivery, or for any of the things it's going to need after it's born," she declared harshly, her voice starting to rise.

"Is something wrong?" he questioned at her sudden change in attitude. In the doctor's office she had been elated and now she just seemed to want to fight.

"I just want to be by myself for a bit," she told him honestly turning to face him. The edge gone from her voice but he could tell she was serious.

"Yeah, sure," Jim agreed as she got out of the car, "I'll come back in a few hours," he told her as she slammed the door.

More confused than ever, Jim sighed as he watched her make it into the house safely, then hesitantly reversed out of the driveway and headed downtown.

* * *

He opened the door to the store without hesitation, the action setting off a bell to notify of a customer. His eyes scanned the store; he had never seen such a wide array of pastel colors. Baby clothes, baby toys, baby strollers, changing tables, playpens, car seats, highchairs, basically everything anyone with a baby would ever need.

His heart began to thump faster as he realized what Pam was saying did have some truth behind it. They literally knew nothing about babies, or caring for them; Jim was the youngest in his family and Pam was an only child.

An elderly woman look up to him from over the rim of her thick glasses as she leaned against the counter, "You look lost," she spoke honestly.

"I wasn't until I came in here, I don't even know where to start," he divulged a little embarrassed and his eyes still examining the room.

"Well first you should find a nice girl to settle down with," the woman replied. Jim laughed and moved towards her. "Who are you shopping for?"

"My girlfriend," Jim answered then thought for a second, "And me, we're, uh, expecting," he finished still not used to saying it aloud.

"Congratulations," she said with a smile, "How far along is she?"

"I don't know," Jim stated with a nervous laugh.

"Okay, well do you know the gender of the baby?" the woman asked as she placed down the paperwork she'd been filling out and moved around the counter to stand beside Jim. "It'll be easier to pick out clothing if you know the gender."

"I don't," Jim replied. He was beginning to feel extremely worried, "There's a lot I don't know. My girlfriend and I have never really dealt with babies before and there's a lot we don't know," he informed as he scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably, "She's been feeling a little overwhelmed and I just wanted to buy something in here that would make her smile," the woman smiled at his gesture, "But then I came in here and it all sort of fell downhill from there."

The woman laughed, "Don't worry about it dear," she comforted as she patted his arm, "Almost all first time parents don't know what to do, and the truth is you usually wing it. I mean there are books to get suggestions and a run through from, but really nothing prepares you for parenthood except parenthood."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Jim agreed as they began to walk down an aisle containing parenting books.

"Honey, as a mother of eight and a grandmother of twenty, I know I'm right."

* * *

"We had a fight," Pam explained to her mother for the third time. She'd called her a short while after she returned home, but had made a decision not to tell her of the baby until her and Jim could together. 

"I understand that," her mother replied, "Every couple has fights. What I don't understand is why this one has gotten you so worked up?" her mother clarified.

"It's kinda private mom," Pam stated knowing immediately that she said the wrong thing.

"I'm your mother Pam," her mother scolded over the phone. Pam held it away from her ear while her mother continued to berate her, "…And if you can't tell me then who can you tell?"

Pam sighed, "It's nothing big," she enforced biting her lip as she lied through her teeth, "It's just that he drove me home and everything today and he's taking a bus back to Stamford tonight. I feel really bad that I sort of exploded and made him leave."

"Jim's a good person honey," her mom enlightened, "If you tell him what you just told me, I'm sure that he'd understand and forgive you without a second thought."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Pam agreed a little doubtful.

"Of course I am. You love him and he loves you and that's all that matters," her mother responded, "Besides mothers are always right. You'll learn that soon enough." Pam took a nervous breath in as her mother continued, "So what's this private thing you can't talk to me about?"

While her brain was scrambling to come up with a complicated lie to cover the reason, she heard the front door open and the rustling of shopping bags. "I've got to go now mom," Pam said quickly, "Jim's back."

With that she hung up the phone in the kitchen and made her way to the front door to greet him. He smiled reservedly when he saw her and placed the bags on the top of the radiator.

"Jim, look I'm really sorry about…"

"It's okay," he reassured softly. Her lips pursed together and she knew that he was still hurt. "I went out shopping and realized that you were right. There's a lot we don't know about babies and it is more than intimidating."

"Well I talked to my mom and I realized that the most important thing for us is to be together," she informed her eyes sparkling with unshed tears. "I want you to be there for everything Jim. From the baby's first kick to the birth."

He smiled, "We'll work something out," he told her as he wrapped his arms around her, "I promise I'm going to be there for everything." She nodded against him and he could feel her cheek wet with tears. "Hey, hey," he told her as he pulled her away and wiped the tears off her cheek, "Everything is going to be fine."

She nodded once again and kissed him softly, smiling lightly as she felt his fingers splay across her stomach.

"So what did you buy me?" she questioned when they parted. Her eyes were shining now and her smile bright.

"Well I went to a baby store," he told her honestly as they walked to the living room.

"You did not," she exclaimed with a laugh, "Did you just want to be in over your head or was this some sort of penance?"

"Yeah laugh it up Beesly, they almost had to send in a search party to rescue me," he joked as he they took a seat on the couch next to each other.

"So?" she questioned eyeing the bags carefully.

"I bought three books. Two different ones on the difficulties and unknowns of parenting and parenthood. I thought I'd read one and you could read the other, then on the weekends we could get together and have book talks," he explained as he brought the two books out of the bag and handed them to Pam.

"I want this one," she explained holding the shorter one.

Jim rolled his eyes and brought out the next book, "And of course the baby names book, so we don't end up calling it something like Dwight."

Pam scrunched up her face, "Parish the thought."

"Thanks to the baby book," Jim added as he set the book on the table. Then paused with a small smile on his face.

"What?" Pam questioned as she brought her legs up on the couch and laid them across his.

"I bought one other thing," he told her handing her the plastic bag.

Her eyebrow arched as she grasped the bag and looked inside of it cautiously. "Oh my gosh," she exclaimed excitedly as her hand flew over her mouth. She looked up to Jim who just grinned and shrugged. "How did you get these?"

"I was just walking down the shoe aisle and they were right at the end and I couldn't resist," he divulged sincerely.

She reached into the bag and pulled out a pair of vibrant white Keds and grinned happily. "Michael's going to have to make a mini-Dundee."


	5. Irregular

_Sorry it took me so long to update, I was having problems uploading (that's what she said)..._  


Complications

Chapter 5

Irregular  


"Wham bam, thank you Pam," Michael exclaimed as he undid his coat and reached for the messages she held out for him, "Not that you're getting any wham bam," he added quickly, "I mean because…well… you know."

"Yeah," she nodded her head gravely. If this graphics course didn't work out for her, she could always fall back on a career as an actress.

"By the way Pamela, you've been missing a lot of work lately," Michael reiterated for the fourth time that week, "Shall I phone up Mama Beesly and see what the DL is?" he questioned his mouth curling into a smile.

"I've just had a lot of doctor's appointments," Pam shrugged her shoulders and turned to her computer to continue typing up a memo.

"Appointments?" Michael questioned quietly, then a look of concern flushed his face, "Pam is everything okay?" he questioned as he leaned against her desk, "Is everything synched up," he paused, "down there."

"Michael?" Toby questioned from where he stood by Jim's old desk, "It's unethical for you to ask people what their appointments are about. Corporate warned you about that yesterday."

"Don't you have work to do?" Michael questioned him as he wrenched around to face the lethargic HR representative.

"I had to come up here to photocopy something," Toby informed as he held a piece of paper up in his hand to prove his point.

"Well go back to the back and do it there," Michael instructed as he pointed his index finger to the doors of the kitchen.

"I can't you moved the printer from there up here because you didn't want to have to wait to photocopy something if the other printer was being used," Toby reminded monotonously.

"Look Toby just go in the back okay," Michael demanded as he turned back to Pam who looked extremely discontented. "Pamela," Michael sighed, "If you don't brighten up I'm going to have to call in Jim Bag," he threatened.

She closed her eyes and shook her head. She was definitely beginning to feel nauseous.

"Yeah wouldn't that rile up things a bit," Michael continued as he leaned against Pam's desk.

Her hands were gripping the wooden ledge of the desk so hard that her knuckles were turning white.

"Pamela, have you been listening to a word I've been saying?" Michael asked annoyingly as he placed his hands on his hips.

"Pam are you okay?" Phyllis asked softly as she took off her coat and placed it on the rack by the door.

"She's fine," Michael waved Phyllis away, "She's just not regular, you know."

"I don't feel so good," Pam moaned as her hand moved to her stomach. Her face had flushed a bright red in color and glistened as a thin layer of sweat covered her skin.

"Well what's new Pamela?" Michael asked an undertone of irritation evident in his voice.

"Maybe she should go home," Phyllis suggested, her face held concern for the receptionist.

"No way," Michael exclaimed, standing up straight with his hands on his hips once again, "She's just going to have to tough it out."

"I think I'm going to be sick," Pam muttered as she hastily pushed past the two of them and made her way to the woman's bathroom.

"Weak genes," Dwight announced from his desk. He hadn't even bothered to look up at the scene, "Her parents must be anemic. Why else would she keep getting sick?"

Phyllis bit the bottom of her lip as she watched Pam whip open the bathroom door and run inside.

"See, this is why she doesn't have a man," Michael informed as he turned and walked into his office shaking his head. "Puking publicly either means bulimia or spinster," he added.

* * *

"Hey," a calm voice greeted her as a large hand shook her foot. She moaned and stretched her back out on the couch, it was one of those old stiff couches, she'd purchased it at a garage sale after Roy took the good couch.

Her eyes opened groggily and she focused on the man sitting on the arm of the small couch awkwardly. Jim smiled warmly at her and wrapped a hand around her foot, "You're freezing."

"I'm sick," she replied sleepily, her hand moving to her forehead as she sat up. She'd made somewhat of a recovery from before when her head was pounding and her stomach was literally doing cartwheels.

"You're pregnant," Jim reminded with a smile plastered to his face.

She sent a sideways glance to him as she reached for the water bottle and aspirin on the table, "You're never getting tired of that are you?"

"Nope," he answered as he flopped down on the couch next to her. He kissed her on the cheek and wrapped an arm around her back, "Not feeling good?"

"a little better than before," she replied leaning backwards and resting her head on his shoulder, "I threw up at work today and everyone knew."

Jim chuckled, "How did they know?"

"Well Michael was pretty much announcing it over the intercom. I'm almost positive that they had a staff meeting about it while I was in the bathroom," she commented sarcastically.

"So much for hiding our relationship," His hand moved down and was now playing with the frilled edge of her sweater.

"I don't want them to know," she declared. Her hand moved to his chest and began tracing the row of buttons on his shirt. "About the baby I mean, I don't want them to know."

"Well they're going to know eventually," his hand moved away from her side as he leaned forward and placed his other hand on her stomach. After a few moments he pulled it away and let it linger a few inched in front of her, "You're going to have to show eventually." He didn't want to get into the fact that she'd already put on a pound or two.

"Yeah, but eventually isn't now. I just don't want to have to announce it and have Michael telling me that I should cut down on sex and trying to convince me that it's Roy's and having Dwight wanting to examine me and…"

"Stop," Jim held up his hand, "My mind can only hold so many disturbing images at once," he shook his head when she laughed.

"I'm sorry," she apologized as she leaned in and kissed him gently.

"I don't think you are," Jim ran his hands down the side of her body and rested them on her hips.

She leaned into him once again for another kiss though it was more passionate than the first, "Are you getting my deep regret?" she questioned as her lips moved against his again.

He mumbled a response and leaned back on the couch his hands still gripping Pam's hips to steady her. Her hair was loose and falling over her shoulders as she undid his tie expertly.

His hand slid up her back to rest in her hair, which was when he got a glimpse of his watch, "The appointment," he murmured against the side of her neck.

She let out a sigh, and planned to move off of him until his lips pressed against the spot of almost untouchable skin behind her ear. She moaned as he continued to kiss the side of her neck, "We're definitely going to be late for that appointment."

* * *

"This is making me nervous," Pam repeated for the fifth time since they got into the room.

"There's nothing to be nervous about," Jim replied tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear, "it's just our baby's first picture."

"What happens if it's an elephant child," Pam questioned, her fingers playing with the material of her sweater.

"Why would it be an elephant child?" Jim questioned as he stood up. He picked up one of the sonogram wands and began twirling it in his hand.

"Have you looked in the mirror lately?" Pam questioned as she crossed her arms over her chest, "The next time I see your mom, I'm going to have to thank her for enduring the pain of passing you."

"Well I did way ten pounds and six ounces," he stated as he began to make weapon sounds to accompany his swinging of the sonogram wand.

"What?" Pam exclaimed then looked down at her stomach, "I don't think I could do ten pounds and six ounces."

"Well my brothers were closer to eleven," Jim continued as he began to maneuver with the wand.

"I was three," Her eyebrows furrowed as she glared at him, "My mom had me a month early and I was in the ICU for close to three weeks."

Silence fell between them uncomfortably. Jim looked away and scratched the back of his head. Pam crossed her hands over her stomach and disclosed, "I could do ten pounds and six ounces."

"Sorry I'm late," The Doctor announced as he suddenly burst through the door. Jim immediately dropped the wand and pretended to be investigating the room. "The radio station I listen to was giving away free tickets for a band if you were the one hundred and fourth caller," he explained as he pulled on two plastic gloves and snapped them against his skin.

"Okay, um, wow," Jim said confusedly as he took a seat in a chair by the bed.

"So Pamela," the doctor began, "You think you're pregnant?" he questioned as he took a seat on the opposite side of Pam.

"I am," she told him with a confident nod of her head.

"Really because I have no proof of it in your record," the doctor replied as he flipped through the folder quickly.

"I came in last week. You ran like eight tests and said I was pregnant," she reminded very calmly.

"Settle down there," her doctor chuckled, "Those pregnancy hormones are already starting."

"Alright," the doctor began and turned back to the counter to retrieve something. While his back was turned Jim sent Pam a very puzzled look, to which she only shrugged.

"We're going to do the ultrasound now," he declared as he returned with a tube, "I'm going to spread this over your stomach so the sound conduction is better," he paused for a minute and looked at Jim. "Who's this."

After a curt moment of surprise Jim moved out his hand to shake the doctor's, "I'm Jim."

The doctor shuffled all the items in his arms around until he had a free hand to shake Jim's with, "I assume you're the father."

"Yeah," Jim nodded and gently grasped Pam's hand in his own. She glanced to him and smiled.

"Alright, so this is going to be cold," the doctor informed as Pam lifted her shirt to reveal her stomach. Her hand flinched in Jims as the cool gel hit her stomach.

"Okay, let's get this done," the doctor exclaimed as he turned to face the sonogram machine to look at the screen.

They sat in silence for awhile; the only sound audible was the crinkling of the ultrasound.

Jim looked at Pam, neither of them knew what they should be looking for, and they were both more than nervous.

"Well," the doctor said after a few minutes, "this is really interesting." He placed the wand down and swiveled in his chair to face the couple once again.

"What's interesting?" Jim questioned, almost suffocating Pam's hand within his own.

"You're not pregnant," the doctor proclaimed stoically.

"What?" Pam questioned her heart beating like a bass drum in her chest.

"You're not going to have a baby," he repeated, sitting so calmly.

"That's not right," Jim shook his head. His breathing was beginning to quicken and his palms were growing clammy, "She has all the symptoms."

"I took all the tests and they all came back positive," Pam reminded, her bottom lip starting to tremble. The air was icy against her stomach, but she couldn't bear to look down at it.

"Well Mrs. Henderson, the ultrasound tells us that there is no fetus inside of you at the moment," he explained.

She blinked back the tears in her eyes and looked to the doctor quizzically, "My last name is Beesly," she corrected with a short sniffle.

The doctor furrowed his eyebrows and turned back to the machine, "Oh this is a picture from the last woman who came in," he announced with an embarrassed chuckle, "I was wondering why the picture wasn't moving."

He turned back to the couple once again who sat looking at him agape, "Boy is my face red," he laughed as he shook his head.

"Could we just please get the ultrasound done?" Jim questioned a little unnerved from the last few minutes.

"Sure," the doctor agreed and cleared the information on the machine, "Baby's last name?"

"Halpert," Pam answered before Jim had even uttered a word. From the corner of her eye she saw a sly smile spread across his face.

"Alright, let's do this," the doctor stated and placed the wand back onto Pam's stomach. For the second time the room became dangerously silent.

"There," the doctor pointed to an oblong outline on the screen, "That's what we've been looking for."

"Oh my gosh," Pam whispered as she and Jim stared in awe at the small fetus on the screen.

"By the size of the fetus, you're about ten weeks along Pamela," the doctor said, a little shocked, "By my calculation you should be due at the beginning of September."

"I just thought it was the flu," she shrugged, her eyes getting teary but for a different reason.

Jim leaned over and placed a kiss on her temple, "Can we get a picture please?" he asked, his eyes never leaving the screen until he noticed that Pam was looking at him, "I want something to go along with the pregnancy test that's on my mantle."


End file.
